Return to Paradise
by blackdye
Summary: The sequel to An Escape to Reality. Two and a half years after they leave the Naruto world, Maddie, Lilian, Noah, and Angel return! But this time, they will have a very difficult choice to make that will change their lives forever. Rated T for profanity.
1. Prologue

**Hi everyone! It's Maddie! Wow, I can't believe I'm actually starting to write the sequel to An Escape to Reality! There were actually many requests from both readers and friends, so I was kind of forced into it ^^; The reason why I haven't written in a long time is because I got really busy with my high school's crosscountry team and being on Varsity takes a lot out of you. But, I still really want to finish this, so I'll try my best! :) Enjoy!  
~Maddie**

Prologue

_Less than ten minutes to go…_I thought happily. _God, it's pretty around here…Ooo! That smells like licorice!_

I sniffed in the delicious aromatic smell and felt the ocean breeze blow back my sweaty bangs out of my face. I was running with the high school's crosscountry team along a trail that started in the mountains and ended at the beach. It had been an hour now, and I was so close to the ocean now, only by half a mile, that the scent of sea salt was so strong that I could taste it.

My running partner and I rushed past the gate that was the end of the trail, and weaved in and out of the campgrounds. Finally, we turned a corner and found ourselves at the parking lot, finished. The ten mile run was over.

"Yay we did it again!" I hugged my friend. "That went by way faster than it did last time we ran this!"

"Well of course it did," she laughed. "One, you've run this a couple of times now, so you know where you're going. And two, even though it's only you're second time, you beat your last time by a long shot because you know how to pace yourself."

"I guess so," I shrugged. "You got the same time as me, right? Sixty-seven minutes?"

She nodded, "Seriously, Maddie, I think that with you being on Varsity ever since last year as a freshmen, we could definitely win state again this year. Even though, we don't have Skiba, Jessica, or any of the other seniors…"

"But Kaycee is definitely as good as Skiba this year! And you are like Skiba's support that Kaycee was last year! Then Brittney will take her place next year!"

"And then you'll take over Brittney's place!"

I smiled secretly at that and sauntered over to my fellow Varsity runners who had already finished and chowed down on some bananas and bagels with them. Later, after everyone had finished, we all walked down to a private beach and swam in the icy ocean to relax our muscles.

I'm baaaaacccck~~!! The beach run was amazing! So glad that I was able to go after all! 

I wrote on my Facebook profile. It wasn't long before Lilian opened up a chat box and started up a conversation with me.

That's good that you had fun. I just got back from a Tennis Tourney.

Ooo!! Did you guys win?

Hell yeah! We whopped their asses man!

Awesome! Hey, is your team going to Mammoth in like a week?

Yeah…wait, are you too?

Yeah! So is Noah's soccer team! That's so cool! Maybe we'll see each other up there!

Yeah, are you guys going to be practicing in the morning? We are.

Uh…yes, I think so. We should hook up after practice then.

Alright, sure. I guess I'll see you in a week then.

Kk. See ya.

"Alright, climb out and listen up!" our coach yelled. "I'm only going to explain this once, so pay attention!"

I painfully climbed out of the car, staggered, and fell to the grass on my back. Driving in the car from southern California all the way to Mammoth, and then running seven miles all the way up to Mammoth Rock and back, there was no way in hell that I wasn't the only one who was exhausted.

"Tired, Maddie?" my coach laughed.

"J-just a little," I replied sarcastically.

He grinned and turned to the rest of the collapsing athletes, "Ok here's the deal! I was notified by one of the assistant coaches that two other teams from our school is also training up here, not to mention the three other crosscountry teams. Those two teams will also be rooming with this team in the same lodge, so its going to be very crowded in the mornings, considered that's when everyone will be practicing, when it's cool outside. I understand that most of you are friends with these other athletes, so I'm allowing you to talk and hang out with them _only when we are in the lodge for free time_. The coaches and I are going to arrange some day trips for the teams to get together, so there will be plenty of time to socialize. However, realize that we aren't here to get together with friends, we are here to learn and grow as a team. So get all of your belongings, and we'll head over to the lodge and assign rooms."

Everyone groaned and groggily got to their feet, for they had all followed my lead and collapsed to the soft and comfortable grass the second they stepped out of their cars. I took a hold of my one black rolling bag and started to head up towards the giant wooden building that loomed before us in the small parking lot. South from the lodge were the many wooden souvenir shops and then north of those was _The Yoddler_, where the team held a party of buffet tables, music, and dancing on the last night of the trip. South from this tiny restaurant was a giant patch of unoccupied grass in which the team performed its afternoon core work and exercises. West of this was the terrifying gondola that took tourists up the mountains and gave them a breathtaking view of the area from the height of 9,000 feet. Surrounding this whole area were incredibly tall mountains completely covered in white and pink granite, rich, dark soil, and millions of evergreen trees as far as the eye could see.

I dragged my fifty pound piece of luggage to the elevator and jabbed the dirty button as hard as I could. I waited there for a good six and a half minutes, and by then, mostly everyone was waiting behind me. However, as the door slid painfully open, I realized that in utter horror that it was already full and heading up to our floor.

"You've gotta be shittin' me!" I cried out in shear anger. "Fuck this, I'm taking the stairs!"

That was the most agonizing mistake I had ever made in my life. And of course, everyone else was smart enough to realize that carrying luggage half your weight up three flights of stairs was suicide. Not me, I was too stubborn to even think about that.

"Hallelujah!" I gasped in relief. "I…made…it!"

I slowly dragged myself and my bag down the hall and stopped in front of the apartment that was assigned to the sophomore girls…and then that's when I realized that I didn't have the room key. I knocked on the door patiently, but when no one answered, I started pounding on it. Giggling could be heard on the other side of the cream colored door.

"Aw c'mon you guys, let me in!" I pleaded.

The girls burst out into sheer laughter and because of this, I kicked the door. Only encouraging them, I was forced to whip out my ID card and pick at the lock along with a hairpin until I finally got the door open.

"I swear to God…" I growled, pushing the door open. "I'm gonna…kill…you?"

The entire apartment was completely empty and quiet. I made my way downstairs and found the second door wide open.

"Tch, they ran away," I rolled my eyes. "How typical."

"Having problems?" a familiar voice came from behind me.

I smirked and turned around to face the top of the stairs, "Hey, Lilian. You here already with your team?"

"Yep," she slid down the stairs railing. "I see it's the same for you."

"We've actually been here for a while," I scratched my temple. "We worked out before we got here. Anyway, are you allowed to be in here?"

"Of course we are!" Noah popped up behind me, holding Angel in his arms.

"Alright," I sighed. "You guys can help me unpack then."

They shrugged and entered my room that I was sharing my running partner. Noah brought out the Xbox 360 and hooked it up to the television while Lilian brought out my laptop, Angel sat on the ground, tail twitching, and I unpacked my clothes.

"Oh my God, I can't believe you, Madeline," Lilian sighed as my laptop started up.

I turned and immediately blushed. She was staring at my desktop background, which was a picture of the Naruto characters and us all together in front of the Teahouse. Angel hopped into my arms and whimpered.

"Well…I…um…" I couldn't think of a lie to come up with. "It's just that…we haven't been there in two and a half years…it's been so long…"

"Yeah…two and a half years…" Lilian murmured. "Things sure have changed since then…"

I nodded. _Things sure have changed…_

I looked Lilian and Noah up and down. Lilian and I both had grown a couple of inches taller and both kept our hair the same length. I still had contacts, but Lilian had finally gotten rid of her glasses and braces once and for all. We were both also physically more fit.

Noah, on the other hand, had changed dramatically. He had grown many, many inches taller so that he was almost as tall as me. He had cut off all off his long, blond hair and it now hung like a shaggy mop in his face. Noah was built more muscularly and his feet were enormous. I had a thought in my mind that if we were to ever go back to the Naruto world, no one would ever recognize us.

_Besides…_I thought. _Things…_

"MADDIE!!!" someone called from upstairs. "WE'RE GOING TO EAT DINNER NOW!!!"

"Alright!" I shouted back. "Be right there!!"

"Oh, and…" the freshmen came down the stairs. "Nick wants to sit next to you."

I blushed and told her again that I wouldn't be long.

_Really have changed…_

"Hey, check it out!" Noah pointed to the window. "A shooting star! Let's make a friggin' wish!"

"Uh…ok…" I murmured. "Are you guys thinking what I'm thinking?"

They smiled and nodded and Angel barked happily. There was a moment's of silence and then suddenly, a bright white light started to emit from my laptop's screen. It kept getting brighter and brighter until my vision blacked out.

**Ok! That's it for now! Tune it later! :)**


	2. Welcome Back!

Chapter 1

Welcome Back!

Something wet was brushing up both of my cheeks, as if licking them…at first, I just ignored it, but it got so irritating, that I was forced to open my eyes that felt as heavy as lead just to see what was attacking my face. I came face to face with my small bishon frise's cold, black nose and her big brown eyes.

"Ok, I get it, Angel," I groaned, pushing her away. "Just stop."

She backed off my chest slowly and waited for me to regain my bearings, which I did not feel like doing. A massive hammer was pounding away rhythmically at my brain and I felt like just falling back into a deep sleep. I rose painfully and slowly to a sitting position, despite gravity protesting against my body. Sighing and groaning, I rubbed my eyes at a snail's pace and pulled my hair out of my face.

Angel finally lost her patience, barked loudly, and pawed at my hand, tail wagging excitedly.

_Fool! Do you have any idea where we are right now?_

"What the hell?" I immediately looked at her, sleepiness evaporating in an instant. "Angel…I…I can understand you…"

_Tch, duh, Sherlock, _she rolled her eyes, which looked hilarious for a dog to be doing. _So what does that tell you?_

My eyes widened and I slowly took a look around. I was sitting on soft, green grass under the base of a majestic oak tree, surrounded by many, many more similar looking trees. The many emerald leaves created a canopy above, making warm, golden sunlight stream in through their spaces. I quickly stood up, peered behind the tree, and found myself staring at a training ground: a wide green pasture dotted with occasional sycamore trees with a clear, blue stream cutting through it. On the left, was a giant and reflective diamond memorial, shining a metallic blue.

I walked back to my spot in a daze, sat down again, and slowly shook my head, back and forth, repeatedly.

"There's no way," I muttered. "It was just a stupid little wish that we didn't take seriously…How is it possible?"

_I dunno, but whatever the case, we're here, and if we hang around in the same spot for too long, then we'll be found out…_

"But don't you want to see everyone?"

_Of course! But, don't you think it's a better and more fun idea if we hide our chakra levels, sneak in, and then surprise all of them?_

I smiled, nodded, and stood. That's when I realized that my black bag that I had brought with me to Mammoth was parked right behind me, all zipped up. Curious, I peered inside and found all of my belongings in there: clothes, running gear, Xbox 360, iPod nano chromatic, laptop, art stuff, camera, etc. I started to ponder how it was possible that everything I had unpacked was all packed up again, but then realized that I had to get a move on.

I took a deep breath and gently closed my eyes. I could definitely, without a doubt, feel the presence of my chakra, but the only problem was I couldn't figure out how to control it.

"It's been too long…" I smiled weakly. "Two and a half years…"

After a long time of concentration, I finally figured it out. I opened my eyes and glanced down at Angel, who gave me a slight nod of approval, indicating that she had nailed the technique of secreting chakra as well. I took the handle of my bag and rolled it along the dirt trail with my dog trotting beside me.

~ L ~

_Damn, I'm so tired…_I thought as my subconscious slowly awakened. _Why did I have to wake up now…? Oh, that's right…we're up in Mammoth and have to wake up early in the morning…Guh…Alright, let's get outta bed and ready…_

I groaned and sleepily opened my eyes, attempting to mentally prepare myself for the expected tennis practice. However, it was not ceiling, pillow, or the side of the bed my eyes focused on. Instead, it was a canopy created by millions of lush, green leaves with brilliant sunlight filtering through. And of course, those leaves were connected to fingers of branches that eventually led back to dozens and dozens of enormous oak trees.

I found myself lying on soft, long grass at the base of a tree, and immediately moved to the dirt path in front of me before a rash started to form all over my body due to an allergic reaction. Taking in my surroundings, I spotted my medium-sized _Nike _shoulder bag in which I had packed all of my clothes and belongings for the Mammoth trip. I examined the contents inside and found that everything was there where it should be. I then leaned up against the oak tree's gigantic trunk and pondered my situation.

"Where the hell am I?" I wondered aloud. "One minute we're in Madeline's room, and then the next…"

Realization suddenly dawned upon me and I hit my forehead with my hand with shockingly impressive force that it surprised even me.

"I can't believe we actually _wished_ for something like that…" I muttered. "I mean, what are we? Thirteen all over again?"

I sighed and stared at my bag down at my feet.

_I can't just stand here and do nothing…I should try finding them…but I should get some new clothes first, I stick out like a sore thumb…but I'll be noticed anyway with my chakra levels…How do I control them again?_

I was fully aware of the flowing chakra pounding through my veins; I had sensed something different about myself the second I had opened my eyes. The only problem was how to take control of that energy when you haven't done it in almost three years.

It took probably about half an hour, but I finally managed to get the hang of the skill of lowering the presence of my chakra. Once I was sure I was confident in myself, I slung my bag over my shoulder and started down the dirt trail to the village of Konoha.

~ M ~

"I just realized something," I said, walking along the streets of the Hidden Leaf Village.

Angel wrinkled her nose.

_What?_

"We look _really _obvious lugging this giant suitcase around," I sweatdropped. "Not to mention my clothes…"

_Well, let's head over to that clothing store over there. Do you have money? Or do you happen to bring your old ninja clothing with you?_

"Of course I didn't bring those with me," I scoffed, entering the store. "I'm not that weird. And of course I have money."

Not wanting to be stared at by dozens of people that I don't know, I grabbed the first pieces of clothing my size and hurried into the fitting room, pulling my luggage and Angel in behind me. After changing into the clothes, I went back out, took a little more time, and finally found some things that suited my taste.

I had put on a black sleeveless undershirt that stopped about half an inch above my now pierced belly button and showed off my pale yet toned stomach. On top of that, I wore a lilac and black shirt in which my shoulders stuck through the opening where my neck protruded. I also wore a pair of fishnet undershorts that stopped mid-thigh and over those, a pair short, black spandex. On top of my spandex was a navy blue, mid-thigh skirt that split up on both sides of my legs. Two black and white striped arm gloves were on both of my arms and a pair of black sandals was attached to my feet. Finally, I attached a shuriken holster to my thigh and a weapon pouch and a Hidden Leaf Village headband around my waist.

"You think anyone will recognize us?" I looked at myself at different angles in the dressing room mirror.

Angel cocked her head to one side.

_Maybe. It depends who remembers you the most…I mean, you're a little taller, but your hair is still the same length and color…you haven't changed that much at all…you're still as flat as a pancake._

"Shut up!" I whipped around to glare at my dog. "You try being a vegan and cross country runner and then we'll see if your boobs grow any!"

_Bring it, bitch!_

A vein started to throb near my temple. I was about to attempt to punch her, but decided against it. If we were to make a commotion in the store with all these people, we would surely be noticed and may even be taken to the Hokage.

"Forget it," I snapped, snatching my bag and yanking the door open. "Let's go."

I paid for the clothes with money I had found in my bag, which was normal before but had somehow turned into yen, and returned back to the streets of Konoha. As we were passing by some restaurants, my stomach growled. _Loudly_.

"I'm starved, let's get something to eat," I scoped the place for my favorite restaurant, The Teahouse.

I finally found it and sauntered on over, dragging my bulky suitcase along with me. After looking through the menu and waiting for the waitress to come back, I sat at the table, finally having some time to recollect my wits.

_This is so weird…_I thought. _Why did we suddenly come back here? I mean, back as an eighth grader and freshmen, I always wished I could come back to this place, but it never happened…Why now? I wonder…maybe it has something to do with that legend that involved our tailed beasts…?_

As my mind swirled deeper and deeper into psychological distress, I heard someone shout, "Oh my God! Is that you, Maddie?"

_Shit, I've already been found_.

I slowly turned my head in the direction of the voice and I smiled. About four or five tables away from ours was a girl my age and height, staring at me in disbelief. She wore her chocolate-brown hair up in two buns and had a pair of similar colored eyes. Her top was long-sleeved, loose, and white while her bottoms reached her knees and were maroon. Two black sandals with small heels were attached to her feet.

"Daaamn, Ten-Ten, when was the last time I saw you?" I got out of my booth casually.

"OH MY GOD, IT IS YOU!" she rushed over and engulfed me in a bone-crushing hug. "And Angel's with you!"

She pulled away, scooped up my dog, and cuddled with her.

"Heh, yeah, it's me…So how are you? What's been going on lately?"

"Oh, I'm great," Ten-Ten put Angel down and beamed. "But it's been really boring lately. All we do is train and carry out meaningless missions, except for now of course. Now that you're here, you can make things more exciting! Tell me; are Lilian and Noah with you? Have you seen anyone else yet? Shikamaru or Temari or even Chouji?"

"Not so fast," I sweatdropped. "Um, I hope those two are with me. They were back in my world before we got here. Knowing them, Noah will go to Shikamaru's and Lilian to the Hyuuga's. And no, I haven't seen anyone else. I've probably only been here for a couple of hours, but don't tell anyone I'm here; I want to surprise them all individually."

"Ok," Ten-Ten laughed. "Well, you wanna come back to my place for now? I noticed that rather large suitcase of yours…"

I nodded, laughing nervously. We left The Teahouse, even though I never got a chance to eat, and walked over to Ten-Ten's condo. Surprisingly, we didn't happen to run into anyone that I had met two and a half years ago, but at the same time, I was grateful for my unusual luck.

"Hey, Ten-Ten," I started as she was getting out her keys. "I've always wondered, why is that I always find you living in this condo?"

"Oh, I just want to prove to my parents that I'm mature and responsible enough to live on my own," she grinned. "But they believe me now, so I'll be moving out pretty soon."

Ten-Ten unlocked the front door and the three of us stepped inside onto the shiny, wooden floorboards. The condo was exactly as I had remembered it: The front room was the living room, in which there was a small couch and television, and was connected to a puny kitchen, where a small table, a few chairs, a refrigerator, and other average kitchen appliances were placed. South of the kitchen were two doors that led to two separate bedrooms, each containing a nice bed, some furniture, and a fan attached to the ceiling. A sliding glass door at the end of the living room led out to a balcony with a fantastic view of the Hidden Leaf Village.

"I've been saving your room all this time," Ten-Ten slid open the door to my bedroom. "I'm going to run to the store, so just make yourself comfortable."

I thanked her and she left shortly later. After taking everything out of my suitcase and setting everything up, I grabbed my black iPod nano chromatic and walked back outside to find everyone else.

I strolled around for a while, listening to music, not really sure of where I was going. Becoming bored, I found a ladder that lead to the top of a building, climbed up, and took a look at the entire village.

_I forgot how big the village was…_I thought.

Angel suddenly sniffed, whirled around, and barked.

_Has he really found us already?_

I turned around to see what she was talking about and upon realization, shook my head. Sitting a couple of yards away from us was a tall man about thirty years of age with spiky silver hair. He wore a blue mask that covered his whole face except for his eyes and a Hidden Leaf Village headband was pulled down over his right eye. His top was an olive green Jounin vest and the long sleeves of a navy blue shirt protruded from the arm holes. His pants, fingerless gloves, and sandals were also the same shade of blue. In his hand was a turquoise book titled _Make-out Tactics_.

"Well look who's back," he said, not looking up from reading his book.

"How the hell did you find me, Kakashi-sensei?" I pouted, walking over to him.

"Hm?" Kakashi looked up. "I just happened to see you walking around the village is all. Plus, I felt your chakra; it's very distinct you know. And, you're the only girl in the village that has a little white dog follow you around everywhere you go."

That was then his cue to pick up Angel and scratch her behind her two fluffy ears.

I sighed, "Man, I wanted to find everyone myself and surprise them or something."

"Well, you might just accomplish that, considering how much you've grown. They might not recognize you…"

Shrugging, I turned my attention back to the village, "Do you might have an idea where I can find some other people?"

"Well, there's someone that you can see just to your left that you should consider going over to and greeting."

I followed the direction and scanned the area…then I smiled and sweatdropped at the same time.

"MAAAADDDDDIIIEEE!" a hyper voice yelled.

Before I could do anything else, a boy my age jumped and landed right in front of me. Even though he was my age, he was a couple of inches taller than me and had more self esteem than I ever will. His short and spiky blond hair, bright aquamarine eyes, whisker marks on his cheeks, and blinding orange and black jumpsuit made him stick out like a sore thumb. Around his forehead was a black Hidden Leaf Village headband with long strands flowing out from behind his head.

"Hey, what's up, Naruto?" I smiled, looking up at his face.

"Nothing much," he grinned back. "How about you? I haven't seen you in ages! Hey! It's Angel!"

He bent down to rub her belly and while he was doing this, another figure landed next to him. This old man was as tall as Kakashi and had his long, spiky, white hair pulled back into a low, flowing ponytail. He wore a long, red robe, khaki colored pants, and wooden sandals with blocks on the soles. Below both of his eyes was a red streak that traveled all the way down to his chin.

"Damn, it's the pervy sage," I groaned.

"I told you it wasn't just Naruto who calls you that, Jiraiya," Kakashi chuckled.

A vein throbbed on the side of Jiraiya's forehead and he sighed, "It's good to see you too, Maddie, Angel."

"Relax, I'm only playin' with ya," I waved my hand at him. "Hey, Naruto, I don't know about you, but I'm starved. You wanna go grab something to eat? And no, fool, not like a date."

"I-I-I wasn't going to ask!" Naruto stammered, blushing lightly.

"C'mon," I grabbed his arm and we started to make our way over to Ichiraku's Ramen Stand.

Kakashi and Jiraiya slowly walked behind us, talking in low voices. I strained to hear what they were talking about while at the same time chatting with Naruto.

"As promised, he's all yours," Jiraiya sighed. "While you take care of him, I'm going to go off and gather more information of the Akatsuki."

"What about Maddie?" Kakashi asked, not looking up from reading his book.

"She will just have to get back into training. It certainly won't hurt her to know what information I acquire about the Akatsuki."

"HUH?" I heard Naruto cry out. "S-Sakura…! Is that you?"

I turned my attention back to where Naruto had stopped and at who he was looking at. The girl was my age and about my height with short, bubblegum-pink hair. Her eyes were shining green and she wore a red vest, white skirt, black shorts, and a pair of black sandals that traveled all the way up to her shins. A red Hidden Leaf Village headband was tied around the top of her head.

Next to the girl was a tall woman with large hazel eyes and enormous breasts. She had long blond hair tied back into two limp ponytails and a small blue diamond on her forehead. A cream kimono tied with a blue sash was worn underneath her long green coat.

"Naruto?" Sakura stared at him and then turned her attention to me. "Maddie? I haven't seen you two in so long! We all have really grown, haven't we? Right, Maddie? We both become more like women, yeah?"

"If you say so," Naruto snickered. "I don't think you two have changed at all!"

Sakura gave him an angry glare and Angel coughed.

_I told you, you're still as flat as a pancake_.

"SHUT UP!" I swung a punch at her, but she dodged it and my fist hit the ground.

When I got up, I found everyone staring at me, so I gave a nervous smile.

"Hey, Naruto!" a childish voice called from behind. "Check this out!"

Everyone turned to face a puff of smoke that eventually cleared to reveal a trim and naked woman surrounded by smoke in a suggestive pose.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?" I screamed, shielding my eyes.

Everyone else just stared in disbelief and disgust, except for Jiraiya, who was practically suffering from a severe nosebleed. The woman then vanished in another puff and a short kid about the age of eleven with spiky brown hair and wearing a blue scarf, navy shirt, and khaki pants stood in her place.

"How's that?" the kid grinned. "I've really mastered that jutsu, huh?"

We all turned to Naruto; for it seemed that the question was truly meant for him to answer. The blond stared at the ground, remaining silent.

"Konohamaru…" he finally muttered. "I'm sorry but…I'm not into those things anymore."

The whole group took this opportunity to stare at Uzumaki in sheer shock. I could tell by the look on Sakura's face that she did not believe what she was hearing.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT, KONOHAMARU?" Naruto suddenly cried out. "CHECK THIS OUT, MY NEW AND IMPROVED PERVERTED NINJUTSU!"

Sakura's eyebrow twitched, and in a mere second, she had planted Naruto deep into the ground with her fist. While he climbed out of the rubble, dazed, Kakashi stepped forward, snapping his book shut.

"Well, it seems that you two have both grown quite a bit," he held out a pair of silver bells. "From now on, we are Team 7 again, but just as students and teacher; we're going to work together as equal fellow Hidden Leaf shinobi. Now, I'm going to see how you've grown with your battle skills. Just like before, all you need to do is take these bells from me."

Naruto and Sakura nodded and started to walk off with Kakashi. I sweatdropped and started to run after them with Angel at my heels.

"Wait, Kakashi-sensei!" I shouted and waited for him to turn. "What the hell am I supposed to do?"

He was silent for a moment, and then his only visible eye closed, as if he were smiling, or so I thought.

"Just relax and take it easy, Maddie," he replied. "You only just got here. There's no rush to start training. Why don't you go off and say hello to anyone you haven't met up with?"

"I guess so," I shrugged.

Kakashi shook his head, chuckling quietly. He motioned with Sakura and Naruto to follow him with his hand and they all strolled off. Now, it was just me, Angel, Pervy Sage, Grandma Tsunade, and the shrimp Konohamaru. I turned to the group and scanned their faces.

"Any advice, Hokage?" I asked Tsunade.

She shrugged, "Just do what you're sensei told you to do…unless, you'd like to help me with organizing paperwork."

I gave a fake smile, shook my head, and walked off back into the busy streets of Konoha.

~ L ~

_There it is…_I thought, peering through the branches of a tree.

In front of me was the well-known and very large Hyuuga neighborhood. After I had successfully bought a new outfit at the store, I wandered around aimlessly, taking directions from random strangers, until I finally came to what I was looking for.

I had hidden in a tree to make sure I could scope the area without being seen. From my view, it looked like no one was home except for a girl my age with shoulder-length, violet hair and light lavender eyes. She wore a black and tan long-sleeved jacket and a pair of black pants with black high-heeled sandals. Her black Hidden Leaf Village headband was worn around her neck.

_Good, Hinata is the only one home…She can keep my presence a secret until I've seen everyone except HIM…It's a miracle that HE isn't there at the moment…_

I wondered if Hinata would even recognize me if she just took a mere glance towards my direction. She's smart enough to figure out who I am, but would it take a really good look at me to realize it?

Because I didn't even think of bringing up my old ninja clothing, considering I haven't worn it in two and a half years, I was forced to purchase some new clothes. I wore a white tank-top as an undershirt and some white wrappings that traveled to about my mid-thigh. Over the wrappings I wore a pair of white spandex and on top of that, a mid-thigh black skirt that split up on both sides of my legs. On top of my white tank-top, I wore a loose, black shirt in which my shoulders protruded from the seam for the neck. Both of my arms had pieces of fishnet that went from wrist to elbow and each of my hands wore a black glove with a flat piece of metal on the top of my hand. Fishnet stockings that traveled from my ankles to my knees were attached to my legs and almost completely covering those were a pair of high-knee, high-heeled, black sandals. Finally, I wore a black cap on the top of my head and wore a black Hidden Leaf Village headband around my waist.

Suddenly, Hinata stopped strolling about the Hyuuga garden and froze. I raised an eyebrow. Had she heard an enemy or something? Wait…

_Shit! I forgot to…_

Instantly, Hinata looked straight in my direction, her lavender eyes piercing my being as they were using Byukugan. After about a minute, her lips slowly turned into a smile.

Rolling my eyes because I was caught, I climbed out of the tree, grabbed my bag, and walked into through the family's gates to meet her right in the middle of the neighborhood.

"L-lilian…" Hinata stuttered slightly. "Is…is that you?"

"Yep," I smiled. "So how are you? How's everyone doing?"

She hugged me awkwardly and motioned with her hand for me to follow her, starting to lead me to the Main Household.

"Everything's fine," she answered in her quiet voice, obviously happy to see me. "No one has seen you for about two and a half years now…Is Maddie here? Her brother?"

"I don't know," I sighed, following behind her as we entered through the side sliding door. "I was with them back in my world before I came here, but I haven't seen them yet…I can't sense their chakra."

"B-by the way…why…why were you keeping your ch-chakra levels so l-low?"

"Oh…that…" I grinned. "I just wanted to surprise everyone, that's all."

Hinata giggled and opened a sliding door to reveal my old bedroom. Smiling, I stepped inside, threw my bag to the ground, and collapsed on the bed.

"Hinata…?" my voice was muffled against the pillow. "Where…where is everyone else? The rest of the family?"

"Um…" she sat on a chair in the room, thinking. "Father is out discussing some issues with some shinobi, Hinabi is at the Ninja Academy, and Neji is out training."

I flinched ever so slightly at the last name. I didn't really want to have to face that person after I had just randomly disappeared from his life without as much as a single explanation.

"When will they be back?" I mumbled, already starting to get sleepy.

"Father and Hinabi will be back in the middle of the afternoon, but Neji usually stays out until after sunset."

_Good…that'll buy me some time…_I thought.

"Alright, just don't tell anyone that I'm here ok?" I sighed in relief. "Especially…Neji."

Hinata opened her mouth, paused for a few seconds, and nodded quietly.

~ N ~

Noah calmly hiked up the dense forest trail, whistling softly with his hands in his pockets. Brushing some blond strands of hair out of his eyes, he spotted the thinning tree line and ran towards it like a maniac. Once leaving the last of the trunks, he came face to face with a twenty foot tall wooden gate with a tall wooden guard tower on the inside of it. Noah approached the gate, switched his gaze to the guard tower, and squinted through the glaring sun, trying to see the man posted there.

"Hey!" he called. "Um…can you please let me in?"

"And may I ask who this is that wants to enter onto the Nara's property?" the guard asked. "And his purpose for coming here?"

"Uh…it's Noah…and…I kinda live here…or at least I did."

The guard paused and leaned over the edge of the railing, straining to make out Noah's figure. After about half a minute, a look of realization dawned upon the man's face and he hurriedly started to open the gate.

"It's so good to see you!" the guard exclaimed, beckoning Noah to come inside. "My God, how you've grown!"

Maddie's younger brother grinned and gazed upon the Nara's land.

_Man, I haven't seen this place in ages…_

Long, flowing fields of grass dotted with buttercups, daisies, petunias, and the occasional dandelion spread across the landscape as far as the eye could see. A worn dirt path weaved its way in and out of the grass and eventually split into a fork. One way led to an old, faded, red barn that contained many hens, roosters, and chicks and had an outside lot of land barricaded by a fence where a few pigs populated the area. The other way led to a long, two-story house, painted a fresh white. If one looked along the horizon, they could spot majestic indigo mountains and a long tree line of evergreen pine trees.

When Noah came to the fork along the trail, he stopped and considered where he should go. The cock-a-doodle-doos, oinks, peeps, and squawks, along with the sweet smell of hay, enticed him to head over to the barn, despite the odor of fresh feces. Regardless, he continued on over towards the house.

As he walked, fuzzy bumblebees buzzed back in and forth in front of his line of vision, pollinating from one flower to another. While robins and blue jays chirped happily, communicating to one another, green and brown grasshoppers bounced through each individual blade of grass. Butterflies flew delicately through the slight breeze and were carried by the currents towards the many flowers that they craved.

Finally, the small dirt trail ended at the base of a small wooden white staircase consisting of three steps that led to a spacious wraparound porch. Here, there was a rocking chair, a swinging bench that was attached by two cables to the roof, and a couple of chairs. Noah stepped up the slightly creaking stairs and as he approached the door, he spotted something out of the corner of his eye. Turning to his left, he saw a pond colored crystal blue about a few yards away from the porch. Mahogany cattails and rich green weeds sprouted from the water's edge while lime green lily pads, some covered with a pastel pink flower, floated stagnant. Sitting on one of these lily pads was an olive and warty frog that belched to its partner somewhere unknown as a snow white duck followed by a line of fuzzy yellow ducklings waddled into the water.

Smiling, Noah turned back to the door. To the right of it, hanging from a nail, was a wooden plaque with _The Naras _carved into the surface and had paintings of deer and farm animals on its smooth exterior. Now, after being distracted for quite a while, Noah finally knocked upon the door's rich rosewood surface.

"I'm comin', I'm comin'," a lethargic voice called from one of the slightly open windows.

Noah's grin became wider as he recognized the voice and waited impatiently for the door to open. Finally, the silver doorknob turned and the door swung open.

"Yeah?" the same voice asked.

Maddie's younger brother waved to the tall boy that stood in the doorway. He wore an olive green Chuunin jacket and a black, long sleeved shirt underneath. He was also dressed in a pair of dark pants with his shuriken holster attached to his right thigh. On his forearms he had on two pieces of fishnet material and on his feet a pair of black sandals. His dark brown hair was pulled up into a spiky ponytail and two black circles for earrings pierced his ears. His chocolate brown eyes were half open, as if he had just woken up from a mid-afternoon nap.

"Hey, Shikamaru!" Noah beamed. "What's up?"

The boy stared at Maddie's brother, squinting, trying to recognize him. Once Shikamaru realized who the person standing in front of him was, his eyes widened and his jaw dropped slightly in disbelief.

"N-Noah?" he exclaimed. "Is…is that really you?"

"Hey, how you doing? Haven't seen you in ages."

"Y-yeah…same…"

There was an awkward silence as the two stared each other, trying to remember what they had looked like two and a half years ago. Noah was now dressed in a fishnet undershirt with a loose blue sleeveless vest on top. Both of his two forearms, from his elbows up to the knuckles of fingers, were completely covered in white wrapped bandages. His bottoms were a pair of black pants and on his feet were blue sandals. Wrapped around his short but shaggy dirty blond hair was a blue Hidden Leaf Village headband. Finally, a shuriken holster was attached to his right thigh and a weapon pouch on his right hip.

Noah randomly burst out laughing to break the silence.

"You look like you don't believe I'm here right now!" he snickered.

"Well…yeah…" Shikamaru tried to gather his wits. "I mean…you haven't been here for two and a half years now…How did you wind up here again?"

Noah shrugged, "I have not idea. All I remember was that I was with Madeline and Lilian and then I suddenly woke up here."

The lazy ninja stared, "Wait, your sister was with you? Is she here now?"

Once again, Maddie's brother could not answer, "You can go look for her if you want. I just came by just to let you guys know I'm here. I think I'll look around for Lee, or Kankurou, or Gaara, or whatever."

Shikamaru nodded and stepped aside, making a sweeping gesture, beckoning Noah to come in, "Alright, let's get you settled in first."


	3. Settling In

Chapter 2

Settling In

"Thank you!" I waved to the receptionist and my boss.

"No, thank you and welcome back, Maddie!" my boss smiled warmly back at me.

I closed the door of Konoha's Postal Service and swung my new red Messenger jacket and brown Messenger bag over my shoulder. After searching the village for a while, I had finally found the building where I was once employed as one of the Leaf Villages Messengers. I would report in my jacket with my bag at 6:30 in the morning, fill up my bag full of letters, magazines, and packages, and take off running towards the section of the village in which I was assigned to deliver the mail to. Now that I had come back to the Naruto world and Ten-Ten was planning on selling her condo, I wanted to work at a job that I was good at in order to take the condo off of Ten-Ten's hands and live there myself with Noah and Angel.

After I had dropped off my uniform back at Ten-Ten's place, I once again found myself back on the streets of Konoha. However, unlike earlier in the day, about afternoon, the streets and shops weren't as crowded, for it was nearing dusk and families would soon be gathering around the dinner table to discuss the day's events.

As I was strolling along, I noticed that I was passing the BBQ Restaurant. I didn't really look inside, but I definitely heard very familiar voices coming from inside. Angel stopped in her tracks while I kept walking, sniffed, and barked at me, wagging her tail excitedly.

_Do you have any idea who's in there right now?_

"Somewhat of an idea," I shrugged, not turning around.

_Why don't we go over and say 'hi?'_

"I don't know…They might be busy right now. Plus, I know someone who'll find us out any minute now."

_Who are you-_

My dog was suddenly cut off when a giant white dog the size of a small car landed in front of my face, it's landing sending tremors through the Earth's surface. Riding on his back was a tall boy my age with short spiky brown hair and wearing a blue Hidden Leaf Village headband around his forehead. On each side of his cheeks was a red triangle, making him look super badass with his cocky grin and gleaming eyes. He wore a dark gray jacket, a black fishnet shirt underneath, and a pair of khaki pants.

"HOLY SHIT!" I screamed.

"Hey, look!" the boy laughed. "It's Maddie!"

"Jesus, Kiba, do you really have to scare me like that?"

"Just making sure it was you," he grinned. "So what's going on? I haven't seen you since you left two and a half years ago."

I opened my mouth and was about to answer, but a voice that I heard made me stop.

"Hey, is that who I think it is?" the voice asked.

I turned and smiled. Running towards me was another boy my age, but much taller and chubbier. He had long spiky brown hair and a red Hidden Leaf Village headband tied around his forehead. He wore a baggy red long sleeved shirt and a pair of red pants. Attached to his thighs, forearms, and shoulders were silver, layered pieces of Japanese styled armor. On his chest was a bigger piece of armor with the Akimichi's clan symbol. On his chubby cheeks were two red swirls.

The boy lifted me up like I only weighed a feather and embraced me in a bone-crushing hug.

"Chouji…I can't breathe…" I gasped.

"Whoops, sorry," he chuckled nervously, setting me down. "I just haven't seen you in ages. How is it possible that you're back here?"

"It's ok," I smiled, giving him a hug around the waist. "To answer your question, I really don't know…I was with Noah and Lilian in my room and then there was this flash of light from my laptop and then…I woke up here…"

Chouji and Kiba exchanged looks. Angel looked up from nuzzling Akamaru and barked.

_You do realize what you just said makes absolutely no sense whatsoever, right?_

"I'm fully aware," I replied through clenched teeth.

Kiba laughed at our conversation, fully understanding it, while Chouji shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot.

"So, Maddie…" Chouji started. "Have you seen Shikamaru yet?"

I winced just shy of a micrometer, but the two ninja probably noticed nevertheless, "No…not yet…"

The problem was I had mixed feelings about seeing Shikamaru again. I honestly wanted to see him, I really did. However, at the same time, my gut didn't want to. I really didn't want to have to face him, especially after I had just disappeared from his life without giving him a warning. If I hadn't told him in the first place, then I would've broken his heart more than I did by telling him.

"He should be back from the Hidden Sand Village by now…" Chouji continued, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"Oh, ok, I'll go look for him then," I turned and started to walk away. "Thanks for the tip."

"Wait!" Chouji's voice stopped me. "You wanna go eat at the BBQ Restaurant?"

I shook my head sadly, "Sorry, Chouji. I'm a vegan."

The chubby ninja stared at me and then realization dawned upon his face, "That's right! I remember now! Ok, see you around!"

I waved, motioned for Angel to follow me, and continued my walk through the local neighborhoods with music in my ears. By this time, the sun was slowly starting to set, casting a faint orange glow on everything in sight. After about five minutes, Angel suddenly sniffed the air and started to bark excitedly.

_Oh my God! I can't believe this!_

"What?" I looked at her worriedly.

My dog ignored me and took off running in a random direction. Confused, I sprinted after her, having no idea what she was talking about. She led me through alleys, over bridges, on top of roofs of buildings, everywhere. Eventually, we came to a place where I recognized it instantly. I stopped in my tracks and stared while she kept on running ahead.

Angel had led me to a place where I had many fond memories of from earlier. It was a small grassy hill, right below the Hokage Mountain and above the Hokage's Office, giving the person who was standing at the top a magnificent view of the entire Hidden Leaf Village. Currently, the sun was setting, making the orange glow it cast on the surrounding area intensify. There wasn't a single cloud in the sky, making it blend slowly from gold, to salmon, to a light green, and finally blue.

My eyes slowly averted from the sunset and followed the path in which Angel was running in. Then, she and my eyes stopped instantaneously. A pair of hands picked her up and lifted her to the person's face. My heart suddenly skipped a beat and my breath got caught in my throat. I desperately wanted to get away, but my feet wouldn't let me; they felt like they were cemented to the ground. I had to leave though. I couldn't face him now, not after I freakin' ditched him for two and a half years and then just decided to get myself a boyfr-

Angel turned her head towards me and barked.

_Hey, look who it is!_

I clenched my hands, deciding that I would kill my dog later for giving myself away. His eyes met mine and then they widened. I took a step back, my legs feeling weak.

"Wait," he called, reaching his hand out. "Maddie…? Is that you…?"

I nodded silently, "Shikamaru…"

The lazy ninja set Angel down and then straightened back up. We both stood there, looking at each other, trying to remember what each other had looked like two and a half years ago. Then, he took a step forward…and another…and another. Before I knew it, he had already crossed the distance halfway between me and his original place. My feet moved a few measly steps forward, but he was moving much faster than me.

I hated to admit it, but the magic I had felt about this place when I was thirteen, about the friends I had made, about Shikamaru, it was all gone. I no longer felt this feeling in which butterflies filled my stomach and my face blossomed red. Instead, it was all replaced with just emptiness, remorse...and disinterest.

_No…_I thought. _This isn't right…I can't do this…I would be cheating-_

And then, he was standing right in front of me. I stared down at my feet, averting his gaze. Suddenly, I felt something touch my hand ever so lightly. It was gentle, sensitive, and comforting all at the same time. I looked and found that Shikamaru's hand was on top of mine. I then glanced up at his face and his eyes were shining with many mixed emotions: confusion, recollection, disbelief, and nostalgia.

"Maddie…?" he whispered.

I smiled a tiny smile, "Yeah…it's me…"

We stood there awkwardly for a moment, not really sure what to do now. Then, his arms moved from his sides and held them out for a moment. Though I really didn't want to, I took this chance to take a step closer and closed the gap between us while his arms draped lightly around my body and pulled me into a gentle hug.

I too wrapped my arms around his waist, hugging him back. Taking in a deep breath, my nostrils instantly recognized his familiar scent of sweet hay and freshly washed cotton, making me sigh softly, totally forgetting about my current conflicting feelings.

"I can't believe you're actually here…" he murmured. "I never would've thought…"

"I know…" my voice was muffled against his vest. "I missed you so much…"

Shikamaru sighed, pulled away, and looked me over, "You've changed quite a bit, actually."

"I should say the same for you," I rolled my eyes.

Shikamaru laughed, sat down, and motioned for me to sit down next to him. There, we talked about what we've been doing during the time we didn't see each other.

~ L ~

"I'm just taking a walk, Hinata, I'll be back," I called, stepping out the back door.

The heir of the Hyuuga clan waved through the window while reading at the table. I waved back and stepped into the darkening forest. The sun had just slipped behind the brilliantly colorful horizon and now everything was turning to a dark navy blue and pitch black. The moon was a luminous beauty in its waxing gibbous phase, surrounded by thousands of appearing twinkling sparkles that looked like spilled salt on a dark blue canvas.

Walking through the silver trunks, I enjoyed the serenity of the forest. A quartet of talented crickets rehearsed their tune along with the help of two tuba bellowing toads and a single hooting owl. Fireflies drifted through the air lazily, casting a faint golden glow wherever they went. Taking a deep whiff, my nostrils immediately came in contact with the fresh scent of pine and earth.

After wandering along the soft dirt path for what seemed like quite a while, I came to a clearing in the trees. Stepping past the last moonlit trunk, I paused in my tracks and surveyed where I was.

A pond, sparkling immensely, was right in the middle of the clearing, the water a dark navy and stagnant, surrounded by cattails, rosemary, and cream colored lilies. A few green lily pads floated in the crystal clear water, one of them being occupied by an evergreen toad with bulging black eyes, its belly expanding every time it croaked. Tiny glowing fireflies danced among each other in the night sky, trying to make the most out of their short lifespan. The long, flowing grass that surrounded the entire area rose up to my shins and caressed them like thin, green fingers. A few fairly large boulders were clumped together on one side of the pond and, along with everything else in the vicinity, were bathed in silver moonlight.

My eyes softened at the sight of the familiar place and after heaving a great sigh, I dragged my feet through the long grass towards the pond. Lying down on my stomach next to the silver water, I stared back at my shimmering reflection and somehow became intrigued with it. Curious, I dipped my index finger into the water and gently swirled it around. Jet black tadpoles darted away, but some of the more daring stayed behind and bravely danced around my finger, tickling it.

Then, suddenly, a pale face with sparkling lavender eyes framed by long dark hair and illuminated by moonlight, appeared next to my reflection.

"Having fun?" he smirked, clearly amused.

I smiled back at his reflection, "Yes, actually, I am."

I then turned around and looked him up and down. He was wearing a white long sleeved shirt along with a pair of khaki pants and black sandals. A white sash was tied around his forehead and his long dark brown hair swayed in the gentle breeze. His pupil-less eyes were like pale lavender orbs, showing no sign of emotion, yet staring at me so deeply that it confused me whether he was looking at me or staring off into space.

Turns out he was looking at me, for he cocked a smirk and took a seat next to me. I smiled back, but it wasn't a genuine glad-to-see-you-too smile. It was more like a smile that you would give to a person that you really aren't that happy to see. And it's true. I wasn't happy to see him; not after I had randomly disappeared from his life with only an explanation that made me seem like a lunatic.

It wasn't just guilt that was holding me down, but disinterest as well. For God's sake how old was I two and a half years ago? Thirteen? Exactly. I, and I hope Madeline has too, have passed the stage of thinking like a thirteen year old. Wishing for things to happen is completely illogical. There's no such thing such as magic or superpowers or any of that. The fact that we were here completely proved those beliefs wrong, but even still, the point was that we had grown up. We were almost sixteen and we had things to do and take care of so that we could start our adult life once we graduated.

Things…have changed.

"So what are you doing out here so late?" his voice brought me back to reality.

I shrugged, "Wandering around, doing whatever my heart desires, hanging out, whatever."

"Very descriptive," he cocked an eyebrow. "Care to explain why you're here?"

"God, Neji, you don't act like you're surprised at all that I'm here."

"I am. I'm just better at concealing my emotions is all."

I snorted and told Neji the whole story along with what we've been doing since we left. I was very careful, however, not to mention any new romantic relationships that had sprung up during the last two and a half years, especially the one in which Madeline was still involved with.

After we had talked for a while, Neji told me to go back to the house and he would be coming in after me shortly. We both stood up, and just as I turned around to go, he grabbed my hand and twirled me back around into his arms, where he embraced me lightly. With my conflicting feelings, I found this hug awkward, but I tried to make it looked like I was surprised.

"Welcome back," Neji said softly, releasing me.

I gave the fake smile again and took the trail back to the house, where I spent the rest of the evening fumbling with my emotions and thoughts.

~ M ~

"I can't believe you guys actually set this up," I complained to Ten-Ten. "Do I really have to go?"

"Of course!" she threw her hands in the air dramatically. "It's your party! Why wouldn't you want to go?"

"'Cause it's embarrassing! I hate being the center of attention!"

"Well you were a little like that at your party last time you were here but not nearly as bad as now."

"Well I've changed," I shot back.

_God it's like bickering with my mom…_

Ten-Ten sighed and grabbed my arm, "Well too late to turn back now 'cause we're already here."

I gave up resisting and just let her lead me by my arm into The Teahouse. After navigating through various booths, tables, and the bar, we finally came to the room where they had groups of seven or more eat.

My eyes scanned the area and I let out an annoyed sigh. Almost everyone we knew from the village was here, including people we barely talked to. Even some that we met from the Sand Village were there.

_3…2…1_

"OH MY GOD IT'S MADDIE!"

I rolled my eyes.

_Great…_

A girl about the age of eighteen sprang up from her chair and hugged me. She had her dirty blonde hair up in four small buns and her bangs hung in front of her turquoise eyes. She wore a dark purple dress with a red sash tied around her waist that she slipped her giant fan through so that she was able to carry it on her back. The two fingerless black gloves that she wore on her hands corresponded with her black heeled sandals.

"Hey, Temari," I smiled. "How're you doing?"

"Eh can't complain," she released me and then looked me up and down. "God, you've changed so much! So what's been up with-"

"Well if it isn't Maddie," a voice said behind me.

I turned and smirked. Standing there was a woman about the age of twenty-six or so, picking her teeth with a toothpick. Her dark purple hair was pulled up in a ponytail and her bangs almost covered her pupil-less warm gray eyes. She wore a fishnet undershirt and a long brown jacket with a pair of black shorts. On her forehead was a Hidden Leaf Village headband and attached to her feet were a pair of black sandals.

"What's up, Anko?" we pounded fists as our greeting.

In an instant she had me in a headlock and was giving me noogie, "Just look at how much you've grown! I'm jealous man, you're so hot now!"

"Stop it!" I laughed, struggling to get out of her grasp.

She finally released me, pulled up a chair, and kicked back, resting her feet on the table, "So what's been going on?"

"I was just about to tell Temari," I said. "But since a bunch of people are going to want to know the same thing, why don't I just tell everyone at dinner?"

"Yeah, go right ahead," Anko waved her hand. "Go greet everyone and then we'll talk."

~ L ~

As soon as I walked into the restaurant, I changed my mind about the party. When Hinata had told me about it, she made it sound like it was going to be really fun.

"We'll just be eating dinner and talking," she had said. "It'll be a good chance for everyone to get together."

I had believed her because how bad could it be, right? It was just a little 'welcome back' party. But once I walked into the room where we were to be sitting at, my whole attitude changed. I went from a little excited back to being disinterested. There was a bunch of people and I was sure that every one of them wanted to know my life's events for the past two and a half years. I absolutely did not want to be the center of attention and tell people that I hadn't thought about in years what I had been doing with my life since I left.

I surveyed the room and spotted Madeline talking from person to person as they would come up to her. She seemed to be genuinely enjoying greeting all of them, she really did. However, her smile looked…a little off…like she was trying to smile. I've known Madeline since fourth grade, and I should know that she's not the type to be the center of attention, especially at a party where there's a lot of people staring. Not only that, like me, she seemed to be a little disinterested in the whole thing. I would talk to her later about it, but if I didn't know any better, I would say that us being here was a mistake.

"Hey, it's Lilian!" a voice shouted behind me.

I turned and smiled. A giant white dog, Akamaru, came bounding towards me. Riding on top of him was Kiba, who was grinning down at me.

"Yo," I smiled. "What's up?"

"Same old, same old," he shrugged, jumping down from his dog.

We chatted for a few minutes before I was grabbed by a few more people and was forced to socialize with them. Finally, after about fifteen minutes, everyone who was supposed to come came and we were able to sit down at the ridiculously long table. We were all given menus and after we had all ordered our meals and were served our appetizers, Tsunade stood up and instantly the chatter ceased.

"I appreciate you all for coming here tonight," she began. "I know everyone has been busy lately and I'm glad that this many people showed up. We've all come together here tonight to welcome back Maddie, Lilian, and Noah. However, this is also a chance to welcome back Naruto and Jiraiya from their two and a half year hiatus. Would the senseis like to say anything?"

Kakashi stood up and looked around, "I too would like to thank everyone for coming together tonight. It presents a great opportunity for us to catch up with one another. Naruto, you and Sakura have both grown considerably but you two still have a long way to go before becoming great shinobi. Maddie, Lilian, and Noah, welcome back. I look forward to training with you three again."

He sat down and Tsunade said from her seat, "That's all that we really have to say. I won't embarrass any of the mentioned shinobi by making them say anything unless they would like to. Otherwise, enjoy the dinner and have a great evening."

Just as she had finished, the waiters and waitresses brought forth our meals and the chatting slowly started to rise. I stared at my plate and sighed.

This was going to be a long night.

~M~

"So what's up, young lady?" Anko punched my shoulder playfully.

I sighed. The little party had just ended and everyone was heading home. I was hoping to sneak back before anyone, even Ten-Ten, would be able to catch up so I could walk along in peace and get lost in my thoughts.

I guess that was a stupid thing to hope for.

I rolled my eyes dramatically, "Nothing much, I just got here. What do you expect? Me to have already gone off on a top secret mission or something?"

"Don't act so stupid!" she scoffed. "You know what I'm talking about. I wanna catch up with what has happened in your life, preferably the romantic side."

I shot her a dirty look while a light blush blossomed across my face. Anko broke out into a fit of giggles and slapped me on the back.

"Don't worry, I won't tell anyone," she winked.

Letting out an annoyed sigh, I took a deep breath, looked her in the eye, and then switched my gaze to the ground.

"Well…" I started. "I'm kinda…going out with someone right now…"

"I knew it!" Anko exclaimed. "Once I saw you and how much you've grown I knew you had a bf! So how is it? Is he cute? What have you guys done? How far have you two gone?"

I snorted at the last question and shrugged, "We've only been going out for about three months. And ya, he's cute, not drop-dead-gorgeous or supermodel looks, but he's cute… We've hung out and gone out on a couple of dates."

"Well I'll be! Looks like you got pulled out at the wrong time."

"You don't even know the half of it…" I muttered.

"Oh! So what are you going to do then? I mean, you were kinda going out with that Nara kid last time you were here right? Now that you're taken, what are you going to tell him?"

Sighing deeply, I suddenly felt exhausted. Thinking about this whole conflict was really starting to take its toll on me.

"I…honestly don't know…" I murmured. "I mean…I don't want to start liking him again…'cause that would make me feel guilty about my guy back in my world…but I'm afraid that if I don't show the same feelings like I did those years ago, then…I'll make him feel really bad…and then maybe he won't like me anymore or something…"

I suddenly found myself in another headlock with Anko's knuckles digging into my scalp.

"You think too much," Anko's tone was annoyed, and it probably wasn't because of my surprised curses. "Just tell the kid exactly what you told me…and just see where it goes. He's a pretty smart guy, yeah? I'm sure he'll understand how you feel and things will work out. But hey, don't worry too much about it, ok?"

Massaging my throbbing head, I nodded and suddenly found myself at the front door of my condo. Anko saluted me from the side of her head with two fingers before hopping over the three-story railing and disappearing into the night. I stared into empty space for a long time until I was brought back to reality by Angel scratching at the door. I drowsily let ourselves in and then proceeded to my room, where I feel face first into my bed and instantly feel asleep.


	4. Getting Started

Chapter 3

Getting Started

_Hey, wake up! We're going to be late!_

Something started to lick my face, which made the dream I was right in the middle of pretty awkward. However, once I figured out that it was only my dog, I rolled on my side and started to let the hands of sleep lull me back off into dreamland.

_Don't you fall back asleep! Come on, get up! We have training with Kakashi, remember?_

"He's going to late anyway," I muttered through my pillow.

_It's already eight thirty! He said to be there by seven! Even though he's usually two hours late, we still only have less than half an hour!_

"Screw Kakashi…if we wait around for two hours for him, he can at least wait half an hour for me…"

_I guess I have no choice then…_

My warm, fuzzy blanket suddenly left my body, exposing it to the cool breeze that was creeping in from an open window. My body twitched immediately from the unexpected change in temperature and goose bumps jumped to my skin. Opening my eyes, I sleepily looked around my room until a white thing with a tail caught my attention, but only because it had _my_ blanket. And I wanted that blanket _back_.

"You bitch…" I growled. "Give me that back."

Angel gave a toothy smirk and wagged her tail.

_Not even in your dreams, whore_.

I sat up, starting to get pissed, "Give it to me _now_."

_Screw you_.

"What was that?"

_You heard me_.

I leapt off my bed on all fours and tackled my dog. The sudden collision sent the two of us rolling, where punching and biting started to take place. I was right in the middle of hitting her nose to make her stop biting my bare foot when I heard someone start to chuckle. We both looked up at the open window simultaneously and found Kakashi sitting on the windowsill, reading.

"Looks like you two are up and fully ready for the day," he flipped a page.

"My ass I'm ready," I scoffed, kicking my dog off of me.

My sensei laughed, "No need to worry, you aren't going to be late. I checked on Lilian as well as Noah and they were both just getting up too."

"A little creepy don't you think?"

He smiled, or so I thought, "Perhaps, but I only do it out of my care towards my students."

I guess the look on my face was humorous to him, for he chuckled again before telling me to really be ready for training in an hour and then proceeded to jump off the windowsill and disappear.

I sighed, dragged my feet over to my bed, and sat down. Grabbing my blanket, I was about to go back to sleep, but I looked at my dog and gave her the in-your-face look.

"Told you we didn't need to get up so early."

~ L ~

I found it surprising that Kakashi was able to get into the Hyuuga neighborhood complex without being detected, but then again, he _is_ Kakashi. I was even more surprised that he showed up at my bedroom window, if not disturbed more than anything else.

I was content, I guess, with starting to train again. It did enhance my senses and make me physically and mentally stronger…it would certainly overall help fine tune my tennis-playing skills.

After taking my time with dressing and eating breakfast, I casually made my way over to said designated clearing to find that everyone else was already there. Madeline was lounging in a tree with her dog, doodling on a scroll rolled out on her lap, Noah was chucking kunai knives at a target, and Kakashi was once again reading his perverted book.

"There you are!" Madeline jumped down from her branch. "Jesus Christ, could you have taken any longer in getting here?"

"Knowing him," I nodded towards our sensei. "I took my time in getting here."

My friend rolled her eyes, earning a chuckle from Kakashi as he stood, eyes still glued to his book.

"I suppose we should get started then," he said, turning a page. "I assume you three all know how to control your chakra, but I bet you'll need a refresher on hands signs for all of your specific jutsus. Therefore, I'm sending all of you out running to get your cardiovascular going where you will then stop, perform some core work, and then practice your jutsus…"

Noah and I groaned while Maddie just grinned, making Kakashi give her a questioning look.

"Running is her thing, remember?" I explained. "She does cross country and track."

Kakashi smirked, "In that case, Lilian and Noah, you two will run three miles out at seven minute mile speed while Maddie, you will run out five miles with a mile tempo every other mile."

"I'm assuming that I'll be starting with the tempo first?" Madeline pulled her hair back into a stubby ponytail. "Meaning three tempos in all?"

"Correct. I would start off with six minutes for now, but your last one should be only ten seconds slower than your fastest mile. After you all have practiced your jutsus, you will meet up and create a strategy together to take these from me."

He held up three silver bells. I rolled my eyes. Could he actually come up with a new way to train for once in his life?

As I was changing into proper shoes, I watched Madeline start her watch and take off with Angel at her heels while Noah did likewise in another direction. After stalling long enough, I sighed and started my assigned workout.

I've never really been much of an athlete, let alone a runner. Sure, I've had my share of recreational soccer and swimming and running in physical education, but never really competitively like Maddie or Noah. Yes, I'm playing Varsity tennis for my high school, but that's only because I'm Asian and all we do half the time is hit balls at one another, which takes no physical effort whatsoever. Our coach does make us run occasionally, but we don't need freaking six packs like cross country and club soccer. I could really care less if I never run again in my life, but I suppose it's good for me.

At the two mile mark, I was dying, and slowed my last mile down to eight minutes, but, bearing in mind that I hadn't run this much in months, I was pretty proud of myself.

I finally reached a nice clearing where a cool stream cut right through the middle. Once I caught my breath, I did a variety of push-ups, sit-ups, planks, and so forth. Next, I sat down and started to go through the hand signs used for my personal jutsus. Considering the fact that I didn't give a shit about what I was doing, I surprisingly still remembered most of them. In fact, it all came back to me so quickly that I was up doing jutsus only an hour after arriving in the clearing.

Suddenly, right in the middle of performing my Fireball Jutsu, I heard a _thunk _behind me and turned around to come face to face with an explosive tag attached to a kunai knife. I cleverly jumped out of the way and watched from a tree branch as the tag detonated and created a cloud of gray smoke. Once the haze cleared, I realized that not a soul was around and wondered who could have thrown the knife. Then, out of the blue, a hand planted itself onto my back and with shocking force, shoved me off of my perch, where I proceeded to fall to the hard, unforgiving ground. Groaning, I looked above me and found Madeline and her brother on my tree branch busting a gut.

"Sorry!" she snickered. "But you were so wide open that we couldn't help ourselves!"

I jumped to my feet, leapt into the air, and tackled her to the ground, which only made Noah laugh even harder.

"Loser!" he teased. "Shit, she really got you!"

A second shove was the only thing needed to shut him up too.

"What're you guys doing here?" I sighed.

"Um, hello?" Maddie dusted herself off. "We're supposed to meet up after we've finished practicing. We're already done and from the looks of it, so are you! So let's just think of some strategy that'll get this over quickly; I'm freaking starving."

Noah and I exchanged looks and shrugged.

I situated myself on a nice tree branch as quietly as I could and hide myself behind the scratchy trunk and the canopy of emerald leaves. I grabbed eight kunai knives, holding each one in between each of my knuckles. Peaking around the corner, I spotted our sensei still standing in the middle of the same clearing, reading. I looked across the clearing to the other side of trees to see Madeline slip out her drawing scroll and start to paint with her brush, quiet as a mouse. Thirty feet to the right of me, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Noah pull out a makeshift archer's bow and kunai knives. He wanted to try it out, so he just made one on the spot.

I saw Maddie finish drawing and Noah pull back his kunai knife in his bow, so I readied myself to throw the knives. 3…2…1…

"KAKASHI SENSEI!" a loud voice called.

"What the fuck?" I whispered angry.

It was too late. Maddie had already made her drawn wolf come to life and it was silently flying through the air towards Kakashi's skull as well as was Noah's and my kunai knives. An orange flash grabbed our sensei and pushed him out of the way of the incoming weapons…and then Kakashi became a log. I stared in disbelief.

"Are you kidding me?" I heard Madeline scream.

I groaned, slid out of the tree, and made my way over to the orange figure, who turned out to be only Naruto. Maddie leapt out of her hiding spot and angrily socked Uzamaki right in the face.

"Ow!" Naruto rubbed his tender jaw. "The hell was that for?"

"Dude, did you not just see what you just did?" Noah rolled his eyes. "We're right in the middle of training."

Naruto looked at all of us, saw that we were in our training clothing and holding our weapons, realized what he had just done, and grinned sheepishly. Suddenly, Sakura landed right in front of us and slapped Naruto across the face.

"You idiot!" she scolded. "I told you to wait because they were right in the middle of training with Kakashi sensei! But no! You had to run out and pretend to be the hero when you didn't even know what was going on!"

All Naruto did was smile stupidly and rub his now swollen cheek and still throbbing jaw.

"Well, what are you two doing here?" Kakashi called out from a nearby tree.

I looked in the direction of his voice, spotted him perched on a branch, and sighed out of frustration.

"Kakashi sensei!" Naruto called. "Sakura and I are ready to go on our first mission back! Let's go to Grandma Tsunade and get ourselves-"

"Hold it," Madeline interrupted. "Can you not see that he's a little busy with us right now? So why don't you just go-"

"And I'll get both of your teams assigned to a mission," Kakashi stood up on his branch and clapped his book shut. "I think all of you are ready."

…

"WHAT?" Noah and Naruto screamed together.

"Are you kidding me?" Maddie threw her hands in the air. "That's the most retarded mission ever!"

I just stared at Tsunade like she was crazy.

"I swear, you must be high!" Naruto exclaimed.

Tsunade gave us all back a look that suggested she wanted to kill us all.

"Do you have any idea who I am?" she growled. "I could have you shipped out of the village in a casket tonight if I wanted to."

I was just about to make a sarcastic remark, but the door leading out of the Hokage's office burst open and a ninja came storming in.

"Lady Hokage!" he shouted. "The Sand Village is being attacked and the Kazekage has been captured!"

Tsunade remained silent for a while until she finally said, "Alright. Kakashi, I'm sending you and your team to head out to the Sand to assist them. You must hurry, as it sounds we don't have much time."

"Wait!" Noah cried out. "Gaara's the new Kazekage right? Take me with you then! I'm a really good friend of his and I should be able to help him out!"

Tsunade sighed, "Ok…fine. But you _must_ be careful. This is the Akatsuki we're talking about and they're after people like you."

I glanced over at Madeline and she looked like she was going to have a heart attack. Obviously, she wanted to go with him to make sure that he would be safe but she knew too well that it most likely wouldn't work out.

"But…" she started.

Kakashi put a hand on her shoulder and shook his head.

"Then it's settled," Tsunade stood up and looked out her window. "Kakashi, I would advise leaving as soon as possible. In the meantime, Maddie, Lilian, I'll give you two some missions to go on with some other ninja."

I sighed.

Could this place get any more predictable and boring?


	5. To the Sand

Chapter 4

To the Sand

"Just…be careful," I sighed, pulling my brother into a hug.

Noah rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah, I know. I'll be fine, ok?"

I pulled away, smiled a sad smile, and ruffled his hair.

_I hope so…_

I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned to find that it was Naruto.

"Don't worry," he grinned. "We'll take good care of him."

I smiled slightly, hugged him, and whispered, "You better…for my sanity…and everyone else's…"

Naruto pulled away and nodded seriously, understanding how I felt.

"We'll be back soon," Kakashi reassured me.

And with that, after a brief wave, they were gone.

…

Once I was let into the Nara's property, I slowly made my way over towards their house with Angel scampering far ahead.

After Kakashi and his team had left, I had gone home and before playing some videogames, changed into some more comfortable clothes; a long, red, slim-fit T-shirt with the words _Blink 182 _in big black splatter paint font, black mid-thigh shorts, black baseball knee highs, and a pair of black Converse. It wasn't long, however, before I realized that playing videogames reminded me of my brother more than ever. Frustrated, I left the condo and headed towards Shikamaru's residence, thinking that he'd have some idea of what I could do. I figured that if I were to be distracted, then I wouldn't be thinking about the mission my brother had just gone on.

The longer I had my mind off of Noah, the better.

I suddenly tripped over something and fell face first into the grass, earning myself a snicker from my dog and the person I had tripped over. Why I hadn't noticed them with Angel well ahead of me to warn me, I'll never know. I guess I was too busy buried in my own psychological distress.

Groaning, I looked up to see that Shikamaru was the one who was laughing and the person that I had tripped over. Since he also had nothing else to do, he too was dressed in more casual clothing: a white undershirt, a loose green and brown plaid over-shirt, a pair of baggy brown pants, and white sneakers.

"Why is it that I'm always tripping over you?" I complained, getting up into a sitting position.

Shikamaru laughed, "I guess you think that it's too troublesome to look where you're going. Why it's always me, I have no idea."

I rolled my eyes and heaved a sigh.

"What's wrong?" he asked. "Obviously you came all the way up here because there's a problem."

"That's not always true!"

He cocked an eyebrow.

"Ok, fine. Maybe it is _most_ of the time. But I came up here because Noah was just sent out with Kakashi's team to the Sand Village because they're being attacked by the Akatsuki and I wasn't allowed to go because that would be too many Jinchuuriki in once place…so I'm stuck here to worry my ass off unless I'm distracted."

"And that's where I come in," Shikamaru sighed. "And I suppose that doing nothing won't do any good."

I shook my head, making him sigh again. He got up, yawned and stretched, and looked around.

"You like animals right?" he finally asked.

"No, I'm a vegan and absolutely hate them," I said sarcastically.

Shikamaru laughed quietly and led me to the pastures where all of his family's animals roamed. There, he taught me every single name of every sheep, horse, cow, pig, chicken, and donkey and how to feed and take care of them. I was then able to snuggle and pet all of them, especially the donkeys, who seemed to take a great liking to me and were constantly nudging me to receive some of my attention.

We probably hung around the animals for a least a couple of hours. After, I was invited to stay for dinner and gladly accepted the offer. As I waited to be called in, I sat swaying slowly on the porch swing, watching the sunset. The sun, a dark orange, was starting to set behind the mountains, casting indigo shadows across them. The sky was a light peach dotted with little scoops of vanilla ice cream for clouds. A quartet crows cawed and soared back towards their nests in the nearby evergreen trees while a few stray deer grazed in the fields.

Starting to get bored, I pulled out my iPhone and realizing that my earphones weren't with me at the moment, decided to listen to a song aloud. Putting it on shuffle, I let it randomly pick a song and it ended up on _Rainbow Veins_ by Owl City. Smiling, I turned up the volume and happily sang along with it.

_High rise, veins of the avenue  
Bright eyes and subtle variations of blue  
Everywhere is balanced there like a rainbow above you  
Street lights glisten on the boulevard  
And cold nights make staying alert so hard  
For heaven's sake, keep me awake so I won't be caught off guard  
Clearly I am a passerby but I'll find a place to stay  
Dear pacific day, won't you take me away?_

_Small town hearts of the New Year  
Brought down by gravity, crystal clear  
City fog and brave dialogue converge on the frontier  
Make haste, I feel your heartbeat  
With new taste for speed, out on the street  
Find a road to a humble abode where both of our routes meet  
The silver sound is all around and the colors fall like snow  
The feeling of letting go, I guess we'll never know_

_Cheer up and dry your damp eyes and tell me when it rains_  
_And I'll blend up that rainbow above you and shoot it through your veins_  
_Cuz your heart has a lack of color and we should've known_  
_That we'd grow up sooner than later cuz we wasted all our free time alone_

_Your nerves gather with the altitude_  
_Exhale the stress so you don't come unglued_  
_Somewhere there is a happy affair, a ghost of a good mood_  
_Wide eyed, panic on the getaway_  
_The high tide could take me so far away_  
_VCR's and motorcars unite on the Seventh Day_  
_A popular gauge will measure the rage of the new Post-Modern Age_  
_Cuz somewhere along the line all the decades align_

_We were the crashing whitecaps_  
_On the ocean_  
_And what lovely seaside holiday, away_  
_A palm tree in Christmas lights_  
_My emotion_  
_Struck a sparkling tone like a xylophone_  
_As we spent the day alone_

_Cheer up and dry your damp eyes and tell me when it rains  
And I'll blend up that rainbow above you and shoot it through your veins  
Cuz your heart has a lack of color and we should've known  
That we'd grow up sooner than later cuz we wasted all our free time alone…_

As the song ended, I sighed with contentment and as another song started to play, I don't know why, but I seemed to think that someone was behind me. I turned and found Shikamaru leaning up against the doorframe, an amused look on his face. I jumped, for I totally didn't expect him to be standing there.

"Jesus, you scared me," I groaned. "What the hell are you doing?"

He snickered, "I came out to tell you that dinner was ready, but I didn't want to ruin your moment."

I blushed slightly, but quickly masked it over, stood, and stretched, "Good, cuz I'm starved."

~ L ~

"That was the stupidest mission I've ever done!" I exclaimed, collapsing on the family room's couch. "I swear to God, I'm never doing something like that again."

"What did you have to do?" Hinata called from the kitchen.

I walked over, yanked open the fridge, and peered inside, "I had to go babysit this chick's kids and they basically ate me alive."

"Why would Lady Hokage assign you something like that?"

"Hell if I knew," I said through a mouthful of apple. "With Noah gone and Madeline going off somewhere, I guess she figured that I couldn't do something exceptionally difficult without my teammate. The next time I see her, I swear, I'm gonna rip her head off."

Hinata gave me a sympathetic look and continued to hand wash the dishes in the sink. There was an awkward silence, and the only sounds came from the running water of the faucet and my obnoxious chewing of my apple. Suddenly, Hinata turned the water off, wiped off her hands with a dish towel, and grabbed my hand.

"C'mon," she smiled. "We're gonna go out. You need to relax and ease your nerves."

I rolled my eyes but nodded and went into my room to change into some casual clothes: a simple white tank-top with a loose blue jacket, a pair of denim shorts, and a pair of black Converse shoes.

Once I was done, I emerged from my room and found Hinata and Neji (whom I was surprised to see to have agreed to tag along) both dressed as casually and non-ninja as I was. Hinata had on a lilac blouse, a blue denim skirt, white strapped high heels, and a pearl necklace and bracelet while Neji was wearing a white undershirt, a black unzipped jacket, a pair of black baggy shorts, and a pair of black flip flops.

"So where we goin?" I asked as we left the Hyuuga neighborhood.

"Out to dinner," Neji shrugged. "Like The Teahouse or a BBQ restaurant or anywhere else. I invited Ten-Ten and Lee as well so wherever we all decide shall be sufficient enough."

Right on cue, the said ninja appeared before us: Ten-Ten in a pink buttoned shirt, denim skirt, and white sandals and Lee in a green shirt, black baggy shorts, and white sneakers. They waved and joined our trio in walking down the red lantern lit streets of Konoha. All the shops were alive with activity as people bustled in and out of them as well as restaurants and their homes. Every window glowed with a golden yellow and if one were to look inside, they'd either find a family gathered around the dinner table or a customer purchasing an item. The sun had already set and now the sky was a dark navy blue canvas with stars spread across its surface like spilled salt; the moon a bright silver and the slimmest of all crescents.

Ten-Ten pointed to a random restaurant and since no one really cared where we ate, we all started to head over without any complaints. As we were walking over, a couple caught my eye and I turned around curiously as they passed by to get a better look.

It was Maddie and Shikamaru. They both were dressed just as informally as we were and looked like…they were thoroughly enjoying themselves; Shikamaru with his hands in his pockets, an amused smile on his face, and my friend cracking up as she told some story.

Knowing about her boyfriend back in our own world, it shocked me quite a bit that Madeline was walking with her old crush in an almost date-like atmosphere. Sure, with her personality, it doesn't surprise me to see her hanging out with a guy and that's just what they could be doing: hanging out.

I couldn't come to such conclusions just yet.

"Maddie! Shikamaru!" Lee waved at them frantically.

The two turned around and Maddie waved back.

"You two lovebirds wanna hang with us?"

They both blushed the lightest shade of red possible, but quickly masked it over and looked at each other questionably before shrugging and walking over. Right after they joined our group, Lee started a conversation with my friend, which led her to start to tell another humorous story.

"How many people do you intend on inviting?" I whispered to Neji as we reached our destination.

He shrugged, "Why does it matter?"

"It doesn't, I'm just noticing how rather large our group is manifesting itself into."

"Has your bad mood disappeared yet?" he asked, changing the subject.

"It did, but now I think it's resurfaced, thanks to you."

"Don't be ridiculous. We both know it's because you just can't stop being a bitch."

"Can you not be an asinine dick for even one minute?"

My skull was suddenly grabbed roughly and smashed against my opponents. We both cried out, him from surprise and me from excruciating pain splitting up the middle of my forehead. I looked up angrily and found Madeline standing in front of us, hands on her hips.

"Both of you shut the fuck up or it'll be worse next time," she threatened.

The two of us glared at each other as we were led to a large booth in which all of us could fit snuggly. Despite our bickering, Neji and I still somehow ended up next to each other, and that earned me a concerned look from Hinata and a threatening glare from Maddie. Somehow, the tension between us lessened considerably and everyone was able to order in peace.

"Why aren't you two ordering?" Ten-Ten asked Madeline and Shikamaru.

"Already ate," my teammate sipped her water.

Shikamaru yawned, "Same."

I raised an eyebrow. Did they eat separately at their own houses or…? The only reason why I cared so much about the issue was because I just didn't want her making any rash mistakes and regretting it later.

"Excuse me, I'm going to the bathroom," I looked over at Madeline. "Wanna come with?"

She nodded and followed me to the restroom. Once our business was over and done with, the two of us met up at the sinks to wash our hands.

"So," I tried to start a non-awkward conversation. "Where were you today? I thought we were going to get a mission assigned to us or something."

"Oh…yeah…" she smiled nervously. "I didn't really feel like going on a mission because I was too worried about my brother and I knew I wouldn't be able to focus had I gone on a mission."

I snatched a paper towel, "Oh ok. So what'd you do today then?"

"Just went over to Shikamaru's place and hung out. He showed me his animals and then we had dinner and then he was walking me home when we ran into you guys. I figured I might as well be distracted to keep my brother off of my mind."

"Makes sense."

There was an awkward silence as we finished wiping off our hands.

Madeline turned to me, "Why do you ask?"

"Just wondering," I said nonchalantly.

She cocked an eyebrow.

I sighed, "Ok…I'm just worried that, you know, you're gonna fall for him again when you have someone else to think about…"

My friend leaned up against the tiled wall and buried her face in her hands, "I know, I know. I know this is so bad. I thought all these feelings were gone…but I guess they've always just been kinda buried…and now I don't know which feelings to trust. If I let myself like him again, guilt for my guy back in our world will take over my life. But if I don't show the same feelings for him, then I'm afraid I'll hurt his feelings, you know? I mean, things now…are just different than they were back then."

"I know how you feel," I sighed. "I haven't gotten as far as you, but I'm getting there. We just need to be conscious of our actions, agreed?"

She nodded and with that, we returned to our table.

~ M ~

"Well, that was nice to meet up with those guys," I yawned as we left the restaurant. "A little awkward that we didn't eat, but whatever."

Shikamaru agreed and there was a period of awkward silence as we walked. I stole a glance at my watch and it read _10_:_00 pm_. The nightlife activity of the village had calmed down considerably and only a few night owls and drunks remained roaming through the streets. It was much quieter now due to the majority of the villagers going to bed.

"So you had fun then?" he suddenly asked.

"I'd be crazy if I didn't!" I exclaimed.

An amused smile appeared on Shikamaru's face and I continued, "No, I had a good time. But…I've still kinda been thinking about Noah…I think I might go after him, just to make sure he's ok. I know he needs to start doing things on his own, but I'm his older sister and we're best friends and if something were to ever to happen to him…I wouldn't forgive myself…"

He groaned, "I assumed that regarding your feelings for your brother, you hadn't changed. I guess it was too troublesome after all for me to try to keep your mind off of him."

"What are you talking about?" I looked at him. "Yeah, my brother is always going to be on my mind, but that's just 'cause I'm overprotective of him. I had fun with you and that's the only thing that matters."

He stopped, looked at me curiously, and resumed walking again.

"I guess there's no stopping you," he sighed after a moment. "I'll organize something with Lady Hokage and you can probably set out the day after tomorrow. Just be careful, ok?"

We stopped and I suddenly found ourselves in front of my condo door. I turned to Shikamaru, smiled, and gave him a hug. It was quick, and I think my action surprised him a bit, for he didn't say anything and just watched me wave and retreat into my home.

~ N ~

They burst into the white tiled and sanitized ER of the Sand Village's Hospital. The four ninja, along with Temari, whom had joined them right after they left Konoha, had raced towards the Sand Village, only stopping once to sleep for five hours. Despite the fact that it was supposed to be an almost three day trip from the Leaf to Sand, Kakashi's team made it in only half that time.

Sakura chucked her bag to the side and ran over to a young man lying on a stretcher. He had short brown hair and because his shirt was removed, one could see how muscularly built he was. His eyes were squeezed tightly shut as he struggled to gasp for every short and shallow breath while beads of sweat rolled down his toned body.

"Kankurou!" Temari cried.

Noah took a double take and realized that it _was_ his friend, but because of his lack of battle paint, aging, and forgetfulness, he had failed to recognize the sand ninja. He ran over to Kankurou's side and could only watch helplessly as Sakura worked on trying to get the poison that was apparently in his body.

At the same time, an old woman with her hair tied back in a bun and wearing a purple and white robe, charged at Kakashi. Naruto, on the other hand, was quick on his feet and created a couple of clones to fend her off. Once she had calmed down, she apologized and once Sakura had finished extracting the poison from Kankurou's body, plans were made of who would do what in regards to rescuing Gaara. It was agreed that Noah would stay behind and look after Kankurou (therefore keeping himself safe from any more Akatsuki members) while the rest of Kakashi's team and the old woman went after the members who had kidnapped the Kazekage.

After the Leaf ninja left, Noah, along with the help of some Sand ninja, brought carried Kankurou to his home and lay him down on his bed. His breathing was much more relaxed now and he immediately fell asleep out of sheer exhaustion. Seeing this made Noah realize how tired he was and he too soon succumbed to a short nap.

…

"Noah?" a voice distantly cried out. "Is that really you?"

Noah's eyes fluttered open and after remembering where he was, got out of the chair he had fallen asleep in and stretched like a cat. Once he was done rubbing his eyes, he glanced sleepily over at Kankurou and found him staring, which made him snicker.

It was like seeing Shikamaru for the first time all over again.

"Hey," he grinned. "What's up?"

"Um, I was just poisoned," Kankurou tried to make sense of the situation. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Looking after you, what does it look like?"

"No shit," he rolled his eyes. "I mean how did you end up back in this dimension?"

Noah told the whole story and explained what had happened so far.

"Well, obviously you guys were brought back here for a specific reason," Kankurou rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Maybe because of the Legend of the Tailed Beasts?"

Maddie's brother shrugged, "All I know is that our transportation here was just as random and unexpected as last time…which would explain the legend, but we don't even know if it's true. Yeah, the evidence does point to that it's us, but we still can't be for sure."

Kankurou lied back down on his bed and put his hands behind his head, staring up at the ceiling, thinking.

"Well, all I can tell you is to be careful," he finally said. "With what has happened with Gaara, you, your sister, and Lilian need to be wary of your surroundings. I mean, these guys are willing to kill you without a second thought, all for the sake of your demon and obtaining that power. I know you came all the way out here to help Gaara, but you're putting you and your sister at too much of a risk."

"What does Madeline have to do with any of this?" Noah raised an eyebrow.

"Are you stupid? You going on a mission that puts your life in danger and she not tagging along just to make sure you'll be ok?"

Realization dawned upon Noah's face, "Shit. She's gonna follow me here."

"She's probably on her way right now."

Maddie's brother sat down in the chair next to Kankurou's bed and buried his face in his hands.

"What am I gonna do?" he murmured. "She can't come here; she could die."

Kankurou sighed, "Jesus Christ, you're just like her. I swear, you guys should just be freaking Siamese twins, that way you two won't have to worry about losing each other."

Noah snickered but went back to thinking of an idea to keep his sister safe.

…

"You sure you're better enough to go out there?" Noah asked.

Kankurou shrugged, "As much as I'll ever be. I'm basically full of meds, but hey, it only took a day to make me feel better. Your sister should get here today, so what are you going to do?"

"I guess I'll go up to the one of the village's walls with the patrollers and flag her down when I spot her. I just need to convince her that I'm ok and she should go back, that there's nothing to worry about."

Kankurou snorted, "Maddie listening to what someone tells her to do? No, she'll most likely stick around because of you, obviously, but also because she cares about Gaara too. You know, she was one of the few people, other than Naruto, to not show any fear towards him and has attempted to make friends with him. I know it'll mean a lot to him when he hears that you two came all the way out here to help him."

Noah smiled and they left the house. They ran towards a point in the village where Kankurou had indicated earlier with Temari to meet up with them. The two stopped and not too much later, a group of people appeared in the distance and quickly met up with them. The cluster included Temari, a few Sand ninja, and a girl Noah's age with short brown hair that wore a purple T-shirt, olive green vest, and black shorts.

Noah's and the girl's eyes met and they stared at each other.

Suddenly, Noah's eyebrows rose in shock, "Matsuri?"

The girl did the same, "Eh? Noah, is that you?"

The two smiled and sized each other up; trying to remember what they had looked like the last time they saw each other. Then, Matsuri wrapped her arms around Noah and he gently embraced her back.

"I hate to ruin the moment, but we gotta get goin'," Kankurou smirked.

"Oh yeah!" Matsuri exclaimed. "So does that mean you're coming too, Noah?"

"Um…well…" Maddie's brother twiddled his thumbs. "I…don't know…"

He met Kankurou's face and the puppeteer shook his head. Temari gave him a sympathetic look, but did the same. Noah stood there, chewing his lip. He knew that going with them would make Madeline tear her hair out and risk her life just to make sure that he would be ok. On the other hand, if he were to stay and wait for his sister, that once she got there, she wouldn't let him do anything.

"I guess it couldn't hurt to go," he finally said.

Kankurou put a hand to his face in frustration while Temari sighed, but Matsuri didn't seem to notice and smiled wide.

"Fine, let's just get going."

~ M ~

"Well, here we are," Anko remarked. "You know, I'll never know how you managed to convince Tsunade to let you come all the way out here."

_I do wonder how Shikamaru managed to pull that off…_

I shrugged and we were let into the village. Not long, after asking around, we found out that Kakashi's team had already gone after Gaara's kidnappers. No one, however, would give me any specifics about Noah's whereabouts; whether he was at the village, with Kakashi, or with some other retrieval team, not a single word was said.

"What should we do?" an ANBU ninja asked me. "This is your mission, so you should be able to make the decision of where to go."

I thought about it before answering, "Let's go the way Kakashi's team took. With Angel, picking up their scent should be easy. I'm sure we'd be able to catch up with them quickly if we move fast."

The four ninja nodded and Angel put her nose to the ground. In a mere five seconds, we were jumping from tree branch to tree branch.

…

I sighed out of frustration and checked my watch; we had been traveling for about two hours now and we were still in the woods.

We had to go _faster_.

I concentrated on landing on each individual branch, yet at the same time, my mind was in a haze; all I thought about was going faster, and that's what I did. I went faster. I sprang ahead of the leading ninja and watched the ground, a brown and green blur, fly beneath my feet.

"Don't get too excited, kid!" Anko shouted.

I didn't listen; I just took off faster, leaped longer, and breathed harder. Angel kept up steadily by my side, not showing even the slightest sign of exhaustion. My quads burned, my diaphragm expanding without effort, endorphins rushing from my brain to the rest of my body. Though I was working hard, I didn't tire out. It felt like I was back at the high school, doing pace miles.

I felt alive and I _liked_ it.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted the ninja catching up to me, and got irritated, the same way I got when someone was coming up on my shoulder during a race. I was just about to step it up again when something caught my feet and made me lose my footing. My stomach dropped and I then proceeded to plummet before a pair of arms caught me and the person carried me to the dirt ground.

Once my feet touched earth, I tried to break free from the person, but they kept an iron grip on me and all I could do was struggle uselessly. Anko jumped down from the tree line and walked towards me with the other two ninja behind her, one holding Angel firmly as she snapped and snarled.

"Dude, you gotta calm down," she put her hands on her hips.

I tried to shake the ANBU guy who was still restraining me in response, my chest rising and falling.

Anko put her hand on my shoulder and looked me in the eye, "Listen. I know you want to get to your brother as fast as you can, but you have to relax. Remember, you're here only because your little boyfriend is smarter than all of us put together and was able to pull some strings. We were hired to protect you and make sure you don't pose a threat to others…and we can easily take you back if the situation gets too dangerous or you start to get out of control. Understand?"

My breathing slowed as I analyzed the situation and realized that she was right. Though I had the five tailed demon in me, I still only had the barest of grasps on my power and very little knowledge on how to access it. These guys were ANBU; they knew how shit went down.

I exhaled deeply, "Ok…fine…can we just go now?"

Anko stared at me for a long moment before nodding to the ninja, who then released me. Before I could do anything else, I found myself being given a noogie and started to let out a long string of curses. I managed to put my finger in my mouth, cover it with a nice film of saliva, and stick it in her ear, which made her gasp in disgust and let me loose.

"You little fucker," she grinned, holding her ear. "You gave me a wet willy!"

I stuck my tongue at her and ran away, laughing hysterically. I heard her shout and knew that she was chasing after me, along with the other ninja of course. Angel barked excitedly as she ran alongside me.

"You won't be able to get away from me that easily!" Anko shouted.

I flipped her off, gathered chakra to my feet, and ran even faster. I focused on the trees in front of me to make sure I was dodging them when I noticed that the tree line was thinning considerably. Not too much later, I burst through the last of the trunks and found myself in a wide grassy plain. The sky was crystal clear, not a cloud or bird in sight. The grass was an emerald green, soft, long and flowing, up to my ankles. There was not a living creature in sight…except for the group of people that was standing right in front of me. As my adrenaline died down, I was able to get a clearer look at them and realized it that it consisted of Kakashi's and Gai's teams, as well as an old woman and someone lying down on the ground…but there was one thing that really got me.

Noah wasn't with them.

"Maddie?" Ten-Ten ran over. "What are you doing here?"

"Well…it's a funny story…" I smiled nervously. "You see-"

"THERE YOU ARE YOU LITTLE SHIT!"

Before I could respond, I was hit like a sledgehammer from the side and roughly tackled to the ground, where, despite the grass being incredibly soft, delivered me an unforgiving impact. I groaned, opened my eyes, and found Anko grinning down at me. I made an attempt to get up, but failed due to her having my appendages pinned.

"I told you, you can't run away from me!" she gave me the in-your-face look.

I rolled my eyes, but stopped and watched in horror as she started to gather a loogie in her throat and let it slowly approach my face as it left her lips. I squirmed desperately but she held me firmly in place.

"Can we please stop this ludicrous behavior?" Neji asked. "We have more important matters to attend to."

Anko looked up and gave him the fuck off look, and I took this opportunity to kick her off of me.

"She's the one who started it," I muttered, dusting myself off.

"Maddie, you shouldn't be here," Kakashi looked at me. "What are you doing here?"

"I couldn't let Noah come all the way out here," I looked away. "So I managed to get permission to come as long as I got escorted by these guys…but I see that my brother isn't with you…"

"He should be at the Sand village," Sakura gave me a questioning look. "That was the plan: he'd stay and look after Kankurou in order to keep himself safe."

"Well none of the goddamn villagers would tell me anything, so I have no fucking clue," I threw my hands in the air. "And since I couldn't seem to find him, I followed your guys' trail to see if he was with you."

Kakashi sighed and looked to the ground, where the person was lying in the grass. I followed his gaze and realized that it was Gaara. His eyes were closed and he was pale, _too_ pale. A slight breeze whisked by and ruffled his shaggy red hair, and yet he still did not stir.

"Hey, what the hell happened to him?" I whispered.

No one made a moved or made a sound, except for Sakura, who gave me a sad look and slowly shook her head. My brow furrowed and I tried to make sense of the reality of the situation.

"But wait…" I tried to find the right words. "He can't…no…"

Kakashi placed a hand on my shoulder, and that was enough to silence me. Seeing the look on my face, Anko wrapped an arm around my shoulders, an attempt to comfort me without showing too much emotion.

I was just about to let my tear ducts explode when the old grandma kneeled down by the Kazekage's side and placed her wrinkly, liver spotted covered hands on his chest, in which a faint green light started to emit from them. I stared in wonder at her and looked at Angel for some help, but she only cocked her head curiously in response. I scanned everyone's faces for an answer, and they didn't look back; they only watched the old lady with solemn looks.

"Damn…" she muttered when the light started to fade. "I don't have enough chakra."

Naruto kneeled down opposite from her and held up his hands, "Use my chakra! I have enough!"

As he placed his hands on top of hers, I studied her and tried to figure out what she could possibly be trying to do. If Sakura couldn't do anything, then there was no way that-

And then, it dawned upon me. I suddenly fully understood the situation, ripped away from Anko, and joined Naruto's side. The old lady looked up, her chest heaving. I held up my hands and she understood and nodded.

I placed my hands next to Naruto's and gathered chakra to my hands. Suddenly, a white flame emitted from them and mixed in with the old lady's green and Naruto's blue, forming a ball of sea foam green energy on top of Gaara's heart.

At first, giving the energy was quite easy, but I could tell that the grandma was running out of chakra and Naruto and I had to keep giving more and more. I took a deep breath, starting to feel a little dizzy.

And then, I couldn't feel her anymore; her hands pulled away from ours as she swooned and fell over. Sakura ran over and cradled her limp body as I watched the light slowly fad away from our hands.

Gaara's eyes slowly opened and as he struggled to rise, Naruto put a hand on his shoulder, and smiled, which earned him a bewildered look from the Kazekage. I pursed my lips to keep myself from crying and lightly draped my arms around his body. I could tell that he was shocked, and had no idea what to do or what was going on. When I pulled away, I could only smile as he gave me the most baffled look.

Suddenly, there was a great shout, like a crowd would make if the home team scored a goal. I looked around and found that practically the whole Sand village surrounded us.

"Gaara!" a voice cried. "Are you alright?"

I stared as I watched my brother run over and stand over the Kazekage, panting, beads of sweat rolling down the side of his face. Gaara looked at him like a confused child, but nodded. Grinning, Noah kneeled down next to me and hugged him. As he pulled away, he finally noticed me and beamed.

"Hey, Madeline," he continued to smile. "What are you-"

I slowly shook my head, "You little douche bag…do you realize how worried I was when I couldn't find you in the village?"

He sighed, "Yeah…I know…It probably scared the crap outta you, huh? But I had to go. I wanted to get to Gaara in-"

I embraced him gently to shut him up.

"I know…" I whispered. "Just…try not to scare me too often ok?"

My brother hugged me back, "Yeah…ok."

"Now this would be the moment where I would say I told you so," a voice said smugly behind us.

Turning, I found Kankurou standing in front of us, arms crossed over his chest, fresh battle paint smeared onto his face. I stood up and gave him a dirty look.

"You…What the hell were you thinking, letting him go with you?" I pointed to Noah. "Are you high?"

Kankurou rubbed the back of his head nervously, "Well…"

I slapped him across the face, making Anko and Naruto start to crack up uncontrollably.

"I can't believe you let him go with you! You seriously have no common sense!"

The puppeteer opened his mouth to retaliate, but stopped short when I hugged him.

"But you do have enough common sense to protect him," I said. "And so I thank you…you have no idea how big of a relief it is for me to know that he was safe the whole time."

Kankurou lightly hugged me back, "Remember what I said last time you were here? I wouldn't let anything happen to you or your brother."

"I wouldn't go any farther than that," Temari walked over, giving her brother an amused look. "We don't want him to rape you."

He stuck his tongue out at her immaturely and I looked down at my feet as Angel pawed at my calf.

_Hey, whore, are you done slutting it up with every guy here?_

"Fuck off," I pulled away from Kankurou and glared down at her. "I'm just showing how grateful I am."

_You could do it without practically having sex with them though_.

Before I could beat the shit out of her, Temari grabbed my arm, "C'mon, let's head back to the village."

…

"So," I sidled up next to Kankurou, "who's the chick that strangely looks a little like me that's walking with my brother?"

He looked over at Noah, who was walking with Matsuri, who was giggling as he used his hands elaborately to dramatize a story he was telling.

"Oh, that's Matsuri," he said. "Her and your brother hung out a lot when you guys were last here."

"So that's her, huh?" I smiled at the thought of Noah having a girlfriend. "He never really talked about her…so what can you tell me?"

"Not much…she used to be one of Gaara's old students when he did this training thing after he started to gain acceptance in the village. I know she's nice, but other than that, I can't really tell you anything else."

I nodded and ran ahead of all the ninja to the front of the pack, where Naruto was assisting Gaara in walking.

"Hey, Maddie!" Naruto grinned. "What's up?"

"Nothin' much," I shrugged. "So, Gaara, what can you tell me about Matsuri?"

The Kazekage looked at me curiously, "…Why…?"

"I get it!" Naruto laughed. "She wants to know about her brother's girlfriend!"

I snickered to confirm the statement.

"Well…" Gaara started. "I once held this training program for younger ninja…and she was one of my students…she never gave up and kept practicing until she got her technique down right…she kind of reminds me of you."

"Except Maddie's way more of a bitch!" Naruto howled with laughter.

I glared at him, but continued, "So…she would be ok for him then?"

Gaara didn't say anything for a moment, but finally nodded, "They're both good people…and you're a good sister…"

I smiled, "Love…is such a strange thing, is it not?"

…

We stayed at the village overnight to rest up and make sure Gaara would be alright. All of our teams, Kakashi's, Gai's, and mine, were provided a three story apartment, one story for each team, to spend the night in. Despite me being as exhausted as I was, Temari and Ten-Ten ended up coming down to the room Anko and I were sharing, where we stayed up late talking and watching movies.

The next morning, at the crack of dawn, we all got ready to leave for the Leaf village. We were going to take our time in getting back to the village, so it would take the whole three days. Plus, Kakashi was still worn out from his fight with Deidara; therefore we couldn't do too much traveling in one day, even though Gai insisted on carrying our sensei on his back the whole way.

"Make sure to visit soon, ok?" I told Temari. "And you guys too, Kankurou and Gaara."

"And if we can't, then you better come here," Kankurou ruffled my brother's hair. "I'm determined to beat this kid at videogames."

I snorted, "Good luck with that."

Naruto laughed and turned to Gaara, "Hey, take care of yourself ok?"

Gaara nodded and there was an awkward silence, like they should be shaking hands or something but they weren't. Suddenly, Naruto's hand was brought up involuntarily by a swirling current of sand and was placed into Gaara's, where they _did_ shake hands.

I turned my back on them and looked out towards the horizon, "Alright guys, let's head home."


End file.
